


may it never leave you

by smallblueandloud



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: (and also mari has a foul mouth when she's surprised), (as far as i'm concerned that IS canon), (i mean it's understandable in this case), Alternate Universe - Daemons, Alternate Universe - His Dark Materials Fusion, Daemon Touching, Developing Relationship, Essbie's 2020 Fic Posting Extravaganza, F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Multi, Polyamorous Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Swearing, and ALSO there is identity preserving magic, and nathalie actually loves adrien (go figure), and y'all can quote me on that, because otherwise this whole show falls apart, i love them so much. so so much., i threw out everything about canon i don't like, lots of fluff i really have no idea how this fic got as long as it is, so chloe's redemption arc is still ongoing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:53:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22622101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallblueandloud/pseuds/smallblueandloud
Summary: Adrien turns to Nathalie. “That’s fair. Can Ladybug come in for a second, though? I have something I want to ask her.”Nathalie eyes Marinette, or rather she eyes Ladybug. She knows that Marinette is in an open relationship with Luka, and that Adrien and Marinette are in a similar situation, but as for Ladybug-Marinette’s pulse ramps up. Is Adrien about to askLadybugout?She’s not sure she can deal with that kind of complication.(or, everyone has daemons, hawkmoth is killing marinette's social life, and relationships are complicated.)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 12
Kudos: 96





	may it never leave you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RedNatu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedNatu/gifts).



> there are only three daemons that have main roles in this story:  
>  **Xiang** (aka Rouge): Marinette (aka Ladybug)'s daemon. he/him. brown/red tinted oilbird. oilbirds are typically found in caves, so he can't see very well in bright sunlight and primarily uses echolocation to see. he also uses his echolocation to judge people - mostly marinette, but also other people who are being idiots. 祥 (xiáng) comes from chinese, meaning "good luck, good omen".
> 
>  **Iphigenia** (aka Noire): Adrien (aka Chat Noir)'s daemon. she/her. white long-tailed tit. these birds are small and light, and their legs are too weak to do anything besides latch onto things horizontally. she spends most of her time outside adrien's room under his hair, or on his shoulder, or latched onto his ear. iphigenia was a greek princess sacrificed by her father, agamemnon, to regain artemis' favor.
> 
>  **Lilian** : Luka's daemon. they/them. bat-eared fox. they've got b i g ears, folks. they're a loving jokester that has a very positive outlook on life. lilian, a male name in french, comes from "elizabeth" which means my god is an oath.
> 
> title is from _c'mon_ by p!atd, which is an amazing piece of music and also one of the few non-depression songs on the giftee's playlists. yes, ma'am "permanent emo phase", this is a callout. deal with it.

Marinette glances up at the sound of sharp clicking. Xiang is sitting on a step about halfway up the ladder to her bed, and he doesn’t look happy.

“Yes?” she says, looking back at the fiddly stitch she’s been trying to get for five minutes. Xiang doesn’t say anything, but his silence is pointed.

Marinette sighs, pulling her needle out to try from a different angle. “You know I have to finish this by tomorrow.”

“I know. I also know that the only person holding you to that deadline is yourself.”

“It’s important to know how to pace ourself. Which means you need to learn to let me work when I say I need to.”

“Fine,” he says, but his clicking increases in intensity until she’s sure he’s trying to map the entire room. She resists the urge to snap at him. It’s been a hard day - a light related akuma hurt Xiang’s eyes, making the fight nearly impossible for Marinette, and forced Mme. Mendeleiev to reschedule the math test that Marinette spent all of last night studying for. In the grand scheme of things, not huge problems, but they added up on top of their normal worries, serving to make her grumpy and him restless.

Finally, she finishes the piece and sets it down. “Okay,” she says, taking a deep breath, and does a quick series of arm stretches. “Tikki?”

The kwami in question zooms down though Marinette’s bed. “Ready?”

“Yes.” She eyes Xiang, who hasn’t moved. “Are you coming or what?”

“Am I coming or what, she asks,” says Xiang, rustling his wings. “Am I coming to go out for the only time of the day when I can actually see, she asks. Am I going to give up the opportunity to see Noire, who has no friends, she asks.”

“Spare me the sarcasm,” says Marinette. She opens her purse for Tikki, who flies inside, and bends to open the trap door. She’s halfway down when she looks up to check that he’s following her, and as she watches he soars through the opening and alights on the hall table.

“Coming?” he asks, the little jerk. Marinette grins at him, already feeling better, and keeps going down the ladder.

Together, they make their way into the family room, where their parents are watching the news. “Hi, guys,” says Marinette. “We’re going out for a walk.”

“Sounds good,” says her dad. “Come back before 22:00.”

“Sure!” says Marinette, waving goodbye. Both parents wave back. She makes her way downstairs and out of the bakery, breathing in the cool night air. Around the time that Ladybug had started fighting evil in Paris, Xiang had “discovered” that his mental health - and Marinette’s, for that matter - improved dramatically when they were allowed to walk around at night for an hour or two, when the oilbird was genetically designed to be awake.

It was a lucky thing that Marinette had done so much research on his form when he’d first settled. Now, it’s 20:00, leaving them two hours of freedom, and she won’t have to worry about her parents discovering she’s snuck out in the middle of an akuma battle. She can’t _imagine_ how much more stressful that would make her life.

And it’s not like she’s _lying._ Xiang certainly does appreciate being outside after dark. It’s just that Marinette does, too.

She speedwalks over to an alley near her house that doesn’t have any security cameras and transforms, yo-yoing off of the ground with so much joy she can’t quite take it. Her heart feels like it’s beating too fast and her hair feels like it’s going to be ripped out of her pigtails and oh, she _loves_ being Ladybug. Xiang is enjoying himself, too, racing to keep up with her as she swings over the rooftops, a blur of red.

Her favorite view of the city is from the rooftops. Paris is beautiful for two things: its people and its lights. In her normal life, she usually manages to appreciate the former, but it was only the late-night outings as Ladybug that really taught her the latter. Now, she can’t imagine Paris without thinking of both in their vivid color.

She makes her way to the second level of the Eiffel Tower, where he’s already waiting for her. “Good evening, my lady,” he says, as she sits down next to him to catch her breath. “Hello, Rouge.”

“Hi, chaton,” says Marinette, after she’s stopped panting. “Noire. Sorry I’m a little late - I had things that couldn’t wait.”

Next to her, Xiang - Rouge - clicks, briefly. She turns to glare at him, and looks back at Chat Noir. “Sorry about this one’s attitude. He was craving the night air.”

“I was craving the chance to _see,”_ says Xiang. “You know, after the light-themed akuma earlier today? Remember that? What was that about, anyway?”

“I didn’t catch the story,” says Chat Noir. “Noire?”

“She wanted funding for her laser experiment at the university,” says a small voice from near Chat’s ear. “The budget cuts meant that there wasn’t enough, so she decided to get her revenge.”

“Huh,” says Chat Noir.

Marinette grins. “Maybe we should’ve let her keep going. If she had realized our Miraculous were inaccessible, she might’ve actually gotten funding for public education in the city.”

“Maybe that’s Hawkmoth’s evil plan!” says Chat Noir, starting to laugh. His voice deepens. “Buah ha ha! I am going to make sure all of our children get equal education!”

Marinette can’t breathe for laughing. Noire is doing her happy _eez-eez-eez_ from her place in Chat’s hair, and even Xiang is grinning, albeit as much as a bird can do so. Eventually, she manages to get herself under control, and sends a thumbs up to where she estimates Chat’s dæmon is sitting.

“Thanks for the explanation, Noire. I don’t know what we would do if you weren’t so attentive.”

They try to get together for debriefing after every akuma. Obviously, it’s not always possible, but it’s gotten more urgent now that they’ve lost Master Fu and Hawkmoth’s still getting bolder. He drops a hint or two about himself almost every fight, these days, and the more information they catch the closer they are to beating him. Noire, being small, often has the best success rate, so getting together allows Marinette to learn what she’s heard during the previous fight.

Plus, it’s a good bonding exercise for them. The more time Marinette and Xiang spend with Chat and Noire, the better their teamwork gets during battles. And they need all the edge they can get.

“Anything else?” she asks. Xiang raises a wing in an odd parody of a classroom.

“It’s impressive that you noticed anything during that battle, Rouge,” says Chat. “You were in a lot of pain, right?”

“Yes, well,” says Xiang. Marinette imagines that he would turn up his nose - trying to hide a blush - if he were a human. “Thank you. I do my best. The girl said something about the frustration of not getting her wish? And how Hawkmoth understood that when we never could.”

“Hm,” says Marinette, mentally adding it to her list of information about Hawkmoth. She used to have difficulty remembering it all - too dangerous to write it down, even though she probably should’ve - but just like being Ladybug has made her more agile and strong in the suit, becoming the Guardian drastically improved her memory, if only for Ladybug-related problems.

“So Hawkmoth has a wish,” says Chat Noir. “I mean, yeah. Isn’t it to get our Miraculouses?”

Marinette frowns, thinking back to her studying of Master Fu’s texts. “I... don’t think so. I mean, obviously, but the fact that she used the word _wish_ specifically...”

She pokes the presence of Tikki in the back of her mind, which sends back a confirmation.

“The combination of the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculouses will grant one wish,” says Xiang. He’s read the same passages she has. “Right?”

“Actually?” asks Chat Noir. He doesn’t seem to react to the fact that they’ve had this information for months and haven’t told him, but he’s always been the best partner. “Anything? That’s incredibly dangerous. He can do whatever he wants.”

“Exactly.”

She feels guilty, sometimes, that they never tell him anything about the Miraculous unless it’s vital information. Tikki always reminds her that it’s for his own safety, and luckily he takes it well.

“So our next step is figuring out what he wants?” asks Noire. “I’ll keep my ears open during fights.”

“Thanks, Noire,” says Marinette, smiling warmly in her vague direction. Chat’s daemon rarely speaks to her, but Xiang says she’s really friendly - and lonely - so Marinette tries to support her when she does. “You’re the best.”

Chat Noir blushes, in time with Noire’s _schnuur_ noise that always makes her think she’s embarrassed. Marinette turns a little red, herself. She doesn’t _try_ to poke at Chat’s crush on her, but she won’t let their self-esteem stay as bad as it is.

He clears his throat. “Anything else?”

Marinette glances at Xiang, who shakes his head. She turns back to Chat Noir. “Nothing here.”

“Us neither,” he says. “That’s it, then?”

“Yeah,” she says. “Xiang’s gonna want to fly around for a bit. Are you going home?”

Chat frowns. “Yes.”

Marinette doesn’t know much about his home life, except that it rarely makes him happy. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He shrugs, looking down. “It’s just busy. Being Chat Noir seems like the only free time I have these days.”

“I feel like that too sometimes,” she says, watching him closely. She does, it’s true, but she knows it’s not as serious as it is for him.

Noire leaves his hair for the first time that night, circling around them a few times before settling down to speak quietly with Xiang.

Something about his posture makes her concerned. He’s felt bad before, but now it seems like everything’s weighing heavier on him.

It’s probably just the buildup of a lot of problems, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth worrying about.

After a few minutes of silence, Chat sighs. “Yeah,” he says, and lifts up his baton. “Noire?”

His dæmon murmurs a quick goodbye and flies up to land his shoulder. She looks reluctant to leave, but she doesn’t argue.

“Bye, chaton,” Marinette says, and watches him get further away.

* * *

“Marinette?” asks Luka, and she blinks herself out of her thoughts.

They’re sitting at an outdoor cafe for a casual Saturday lunch date, but for some reason she can’t stop thinking about her conversation with Chat Noir the night before.

He seemed sad, yes, but not any more than he had before. She’s not sure _what_ struck her as different this time, but the memory won’t leave her alone.

“Sorry, Luka,” she says, and attempts a smile at Lilian. Xiang’s clicking, from where he’s sitting on the table by her hand, increases in frequency.

“Stop that,” she hisses at him, and looks back to Luka. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

Luka smiles at her. “It’s okay, Marinette. Are you alright?”

She shrugs, considering what details she can give. Not many. “I’m okay. I’m just worried about a friend.”

Luka still looks concerned, so she takes a sip of her lemonade and smiles at him. “Everything’s okay, really. What were you saying?”

He brightens, then, reaching out with his left hand to grab hers. “Did you know?” he says, scratching Lilian’s forehead with his other hand. “Math and music are interrelated! In more than just rhythm. Every musical chord can be expressed as a sum of vectors, and we can decompose...”

Marinette doesn’t like math much, but she does like the sound of his voice. She sits back, settles her free hand on Xiang, and lets herself relax into her rich, uncomplicated love for this boy.

* * *

Tuesday finds Marinette in math class, wishing she had a boyfriend more interested in logarithms than music. She’s almost _happy_ when someone near the window spots the akuma.

She rushes into the girl’s bathroom, going into her usual stall, three from the left. All of this is so routine lately, as Hawkmoth gets more eager to beat them, that no one blinks when she disappears anymore.

Alya says everyone thinks Marinette has a nervous bladder, which... while it’s not ideal, at least her secret identity isn’t at risk. She can deal with pretty much anything else.

“Come on, Tikki!” she says, pulling open her purse. “Let’s go!”

Xiang’s clicking increases in frequency from his place on the stall’s metal perch. “You’re too excited to miss class,” he says. “How do you expect to get decent grades if you keep leaving at the slightest hint of trouble?”

Tikki zooms out, blinking in the light. “There was an akuma, though,” she says. Tikki always sounds bright. It’s starting to get on her nerves. “Marinette’s doing just fine. Better safe than sorry!”

“My grades are just fine,” says Marinette to Xiang, catching his gaze briefly. “I’m just looking forward to seeing Chat and Noire. I’m worried about them.”

“Right,” says Xiang.

She ignores him. He’s just as worried about them as she is, and they both know it. “Tikki, spots on!”

* * *

The battle goes easily enough. Something is off with Chat Noir, though - she barely gets a chance to speak with him during the fight itself, and he’s vanished by the time she’s purified the akuma.

“We don’t have time to look for them,” she says to Xiang, who’s beating his wings anxiously. It says a lot about his love for Noire that he wants to stay outside in the bright afternoon sunshine to look for her and Chat. She hates being the one to stop him, but they still have class. “Come on.”

She gets back to school and detransforms in the bathroom, slipping back into class as quietly as she can manage. Everyone resolutely pretends not to see her, except Alya, who shoots her a wink and then turns away.

Marinette really loves her classmates sometimes. They may be oblivious, but they always have her back.

Even Chloe is clearly holding herself in check. Marinette isn’t sure if this is a _thing_ Alya has spoken with her about, or part of her new campaign to be a decent person (proceeding admirably, with mixed results), but she’s grateful nonetheless.

She slips into her seat and tries to catch herself up with the lecture, which seems to have started only a few minutes ago. It’s only when class is finally ending, half an hour later, that she realizes Adrien had vanished during the akuma attack.

“He’s fine, of course,” she says quietly to Xiang, walking outside. “The Miraculous Ladybug heals everyone that’s been injured. But still...”

“He’s been quiet recently,” says Xiang. He’s as concerned as she is. “And Nora’s worried about him, too. Adrien hadn’t mentioned any photo shoots or lessons to Nino.”

Marinette has a date with Luka later, but she sends him a quick text and cancels it. Something doesn’t feel right, and she’s worried about Adrien.

 _No problem :)_ Luka sends back. _Good luck!_

And then: _Lilian says to say hi to adrien for us. and that he needs to learn an instrument so he can channel all of this teenaged angst into song._

Marinette smiles. _I’ll bring up the concept. Lilian’s the best, tell them I miss their sense of humor. Love you._

_They’re currently laughing their head off at their own joke. it’s more annoying than anything else, trust me. love you too._

Her first stop is Kagami in the locker rooms. She shrugs and says she hasn’t seen Adrien since the morning. “You should try the river, though,” she says. “Nia likes to fly on the breezes.”

Marinette doesn’t have any homework, luckily, so she has the time to follow up on Kagami’s suggestion. Eventually, she spots his blonde hair at the park on the tip of the Île Saint-Louis, and when she squints she can see Iphigenia fluttering around him.

She makes her way across the bridge and down the steps into the actual park. It’s getting late, so she takes a second to text her parents that she’s taking care of a friend, then goes over to Adrien and sits down next to him.

“Hi,” he says, without turning to look at her. Iphigenia swoops down in front of her, ruffling her hair and making her duck, before landing on the bench behind them. Xiang rubs his beak on her wrist, fond, and takes off to go sit with Iphigenia.

Adrien is sitting with his feet hanging over the edge. She nudges his shoulder with hers, watching his profile.

“Hey,” she says. “You left class during the akuma.”

“Yeah,” he says. “It’s just- it’s been a rough few weeks. I went to go see a friend, get my mind off things. You know.”

She ignores the stab of curiosity. “You want to talk about it?”

He sighs, hesitating. Finally, he says, “It’s been more than eighteen months since my mom disappeared. I don’t think we’re ever going to find her.”

Marinette turns to look out at the water. She’s lucky. She has a loving family, she’s freaking Ladybug - she hasn’t ever lost anyone, especially not her mother. She can’t imagine how he feels.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “Is there anything I can do?”

Adrien doesn’t answer.

“Anything? Seriously. You’re my friend and I want to help you.”

Nothing.

“Fine, I’ll give you options. Do you want me to just shut up, or shut up and go away?”

That finally prompts a smile. He glances away from the water, focusing on her for the first time. “Neither,” he says. “Thanks for coming to check up on me.”

“What are friends for?” she asks. She’s not going to pretend she hasn’t had the world’s biggest crush on Adrien for more than a year now, but now that she’s dating Luka it’s been... easier. She’s less blushy around him, for one, and more able to get out complete sentences.

She looks back at Adrien, who’s lapsed back into his own thoughts. She wants to ask about his father, but she knows that’s a sore subject. She’s had _multiple_ discussions with Nino and Alya about what parenting choice they’re most eager to kneecap Gabriel Agreste for.

Her personal favorite is the modeling Adrien never consented to, but Nino makes a strong point about the emotional abandonment.

“My dad barely talks to me anymore,” says Adrien, like he read her mind. His smile has vanished again. “I don’t see him at all. It’s not- I’m not asking for much, here. He’s my _father!”_

“Yeah,” says Marinette. “He should be there for you.”

“Exactly!” says Adrien, throwing his hands up. “And he’s refusing to accept that she’s really gone. He’s just- he keeps saying _When your mother gets back_ and talking about her in the present tense and stuff. It’s infuriating.”

“Why?”

“If _I_ have to deal with her being gone, so does he! It’s not fair. He doesn’t get to sweep it under the rug while I deal with this on my own.” He wipes at his eyes, harshly. “ _He’s_ the adult in this situation.”

“Adrien-” says Marinette. She’s not sure what else to say. How is she supposed to comfort him? He’s right. It’s not fair. But what can they do about it?

Gabriel hasn’t broken the law. He’s provided adequate care for his child, sent him to school, supported him in extracurricular activities. Ladybug can’t beat him up, because he’s not a villain, and Marinette can’t stop him, because he isn’t technically doing anything _wrong._

“I’m sorry,” she says, and holds out her arms. He falls into them and just stays there, leaning on her shoulder. “It’s not fair. I wish I could do something.”

Iphigenia chirps in the background, but Adrien ignores her, so Marinette does too.

“You’re doing something right now,” he says, muffled into her shirt. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” she says, and tightens her grip around him.

* * *

When Adrien leaves for home, Marinette ducks into an alleyway and transforms as quickly as she can. She’s late for debrief with Chat Noir, nebulous as their standing date is, and she doesn’t want to make him wait.

Surprisingly, when she makes it to the Tower, he’s not there. It isn’t like him to leave without at least letting her know - but she doesn’t have any messages on her yo-yo.

“Did he just... leave?” she asks.

Xiang, hovering in front of her, shakes his head. “There’s no way,” he says, although he doesn’t sound very confident. “We need to wait for him.”

Their parents still think they’re comforting Adrien and Iphigenia, but that doesn’t mean she’s off the hook completely. She can’t wait around for Chat Noir forever.

Luckily, he comes after only a few minutes. When he drops down on the ledge, he’s breathing heavily, and Noire is clinging to his ear, looking smaller than ever.

“Sorry- I’m-” He gasps for air. “I’m sorry to be late, my lady.”

“It’s okay, chaton,” she says, smiling at him. “Catch your breath before you try to say anything.”

He does. Noire, however, speaks up. “I tried to tell him to get going,” she says. “But we were with a friend.”

“That’s okay,” says Marinette. “I was a little late, myself.” She hesitates, making sure Chat has caught his breath. Then she says: “You guys disappeared from the battle really quickly.”

Noire tucks her head in Chat’s hair. He frowns. “Sorry about that,” he says. “It’s- it’s been a rough week or so.”

“Yeah,” she says. “You sounded down on Friday night.”

“Did I?” he says, clearly thinking back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t- I didn’t want to take it out on you.”

“You didn’t,” she says. “I’ve been worried about you, though. Is everything okay?”

He chuckles a little at that, without humor. “Eh,” he says. “Nothing’s really _wrong,_ per say.”

“Anyways,” says Noire, hurriedly. “Did you notice anything during the battle?”

“...No,” she says, narrowing her eyes at both of them. Chat, sure, she’s used to him evading her questions. But _Noire?_

“You didn’t hear what the akuma was about, did you?” asks Xiang, still hovering in front of them. He enjoys the workout after days of sitting around and watching her sew.

“No,” says Marinette.

“I did,” says Noire. Everyone turns to her with interest. She swoops down from Chat’s hair and lands between them. “He was making illusions to try to bring back his husband, who died a few weeks ago.”

“Oh,” she says, thinking back to Adrien. “That’s terrible.”

“It is,” says Noire. “But get this. He said we couldn’t turn him, because we couldn’t understand his pain. Only Hawkmoth could understand the pain of losing a spouse.”

“So he’s lost a spouse?” asks Chat. “That’s a huge lead.”

 _He’s lost a spouse,_ thinks Marinette, and then: _He has a wish. He wants to get our Miraculous for that wish._

“Does Hawkmoth- is his wish to bring back his spouse?”

Chat frowns. “That’s a stab in the dark. It could’ve been years ago.”

“Why else would he have mentioned it to the akumatized man?” asks Marinette, picking up steam. “I mean, maybe to relate to him. But he never told the guy whose house burned down that he understood losing everything, and if he wants to relate to the victims he’d make that stuff up all the time.”

“It’s a good point,” says Xiang. “It was probably recent.”

“We’ll have to do some research,” says Marinette. “There’s probably something in Master Fu’s things.” She can feel herself getting hopeful. This might be it. The way they beat Hawkmoth.

“Okay,” says Chat Noir. “Keep me updated.”

It’s the first time he’s ever asked her to tell him something instead of trusting her to tell him what he needs to know.

“Okay,” she says. “Take care of yourselves.”

“Good night!” says Xiang, taking off.

She launches herself off the ledge to follow him, already considering where to find the information she needs.

* * *

“Tikki,” Marinette groans, a few hours later. She’s sitting on her bed - in theory, so no one coming through the trapdoor can see the documents she’s spread out - but all that’s really done is made her back hurt. It’s been _hours_ and she hasn’t made a bit of progress.

“It’s not going to be easy, Marinette,” says Tikki, floating next to her. “You knew that when you signed up for this.”

“Yeah, I _know_ that,” says Marinette. She lets herself flop back onto the bed. “But I thought we were close to the end, you know? I want to be able to focus on my life!”

“I understand,” says Tikki. “Hawkmoth isn’t going to be easy to beat. But I believe in you!”

“Thanks,” says Marinette, closing her eyes to avoid rolling them. She lets out a long breath and lets herself finally relax, molding into the mattress. It’s been a long week. This is the first time in days that she’s had a hint of free time - even though she _was_ using it for Guardian work.

She probably falls asleep, because she’s startled by her phone buzzing from its place on the bed next to her. She pulls the phone over, holding it above her head.

“Who is it?” says Xiang, coming up from his perch on her desk to sit above her head.

She pulls open the message. “Luka.”

_Hey mari. quick confirmation for the guy i’ve got over. we’re open, right? he and i can date?_

She and Luka aren’t in a closed relationship in any sense. They’re in love, yes, and Marinette would like to _keep_ dating him for as long as she can, but they’ve agreed to dating other people as well.

Part of it is that Marinette can’t give Luka all the attention he deserves, busy with her sewing and being Ladybug and now being the Guardian. But also: there are people she would go out with, if the opportunity arose.

 _Yeah!_ she sends. This is standard procedure. _Is he cute??_

_Yeah. i’ll tell you about him later. it’s a bit unconventional._

_Stay safe and have fun. Love you. Xiang says hi._

Marinette sets her phone down and closes her eyes again. “He’s dating someone.”

“He’s dated a lot of someones,” says Xiang. “Speaking of which, when are you going to ask out Kagami?”

“Leave me alone,” she says. She absolutely doesn’t blush, not even a little. “And it’s not that he’s dating anyone. It’s just- he’s dating someone, and I’m doing research on my bed at 22:30. And it isn’t even for school.”

“It’s more important than school!” Tikki says. Marinette pushes down the urge to smother her with a pillow.

“We’re kind of losers at the moment,” says Xiang. “Oh well. We’ll figure it out. Right now I want to sleep.”

“Yeah,” she says. “Alright.”

She climbs down from the bed, balancing all of the ancient texts in her arms, and hides them in their place behind the lounge chair. Then she goes back up to her bed and flops down.

“Goodnight,” she says.

“Goodnight, Marinette!” says Tikki.

Xiang’s clicking increases in frequency.

Marinette closes her eyes.

* * *

On Sunday, she heads out to the Couffaine houseboat for a walking date with Luka.

When she gets to the ramp, she has to step aside to let Juleka off. “Hi, Marinette,” she says, waving.

“Hey, Juleka! Date with Rose?”

“Yeah,” says Juleka, smiling. “We’re going out to eat.”

“Have fun!”

“You too.”

She makes her way inside, Xiang riding on her shoulder - he can’t fly very well in the bright sunlight. Luka glances up when she enters the dining room. “Hey!”

“Hi,” she says, going over to kiss him. Lilian is near his feet, and Marinette goes to her knees to pet them, relishing the feeling of their fur between her fingers and how close she feels to Luka when she does this. “Hi, Lilian.”

“Hey, Marinette!” says Lilian. They circle around the table a few times before climbing up on a chair in the corner. “Xiang!”

“Hello, love,” says Xiang, sitting down next to them. He rubs his beak on their neck, briefly.

“Marinette, there’s someone I want you to meet,” says Luka. “Remember the boy I asked you about?”

“Yeah,” says Marinette. She’s met Luka’s other partners often enough to know the drill, so she smiles at him. “Is he here?”

“Yeah,” says Luka. He goes over to the door - three meters away from Lilian, which Marinette knows is already stretching their short bond. “Chat?”

Chat _fucking_ Noir walks through the door, and Marinette fights to slow her heartbeat. Jesus Christ. Jesus fucking Christ. Of course this happens to _her._

 _Ladybug is the superhero of good luck,_ her ass. Marinette is going to _kill_ Tikki.

Somehow, Xiang manages to find their lost presence of mind. He lands on Marinette’s shoulder, his claws anchoring her in the present.

“Hi,” he says, surveying Chat - and Noire, who isn’t visible, but is undoubtedly hiding in Chat’s hair.

“Hello, Princess,” says Chat. “And- uh- what’s your name, again?”

 _Rouge,_ thinks Marinette.

“Xiang,” she says. “This is Xiang.”

The daemon in question’s clicking increases in frequency. _Who_ he’s judging - Chat, for being oblivious, or her, for feeling so shaken by this revelation - she’s not sure.

She ignores him and holds out her hand to shake. “Nice to see you again, Chat Noir.”

“Ditto,” he says. He turns to Luka. “I’ve got to go-”

“Sure thing,” says Luka. He kisses Chat quickly, pulling back and smiling. “You got an idea of your schedule for next week?”

“Not yet,” says Chat. “Uh- nice to see you again, Marinette.”

She gives him a thumb’s up. He seems nervous, but then again, meeting your boyfriend’s girlfriend isn’t something most people are used to.

“Bye!” he says quickly, turning and disappearing out the back door. Marinette doesn’t follow - she knows how he would jump onto the boat’s roof and then onto the shore, expand his baton to go through Paris. She _knows_ him. He’s her partner, one of her best friends, and she can’t say anything.

It sucks sometimes, having a secret identity.

“He’s kind of nervous,” says Luka, following her gaze. “It’s adorable.”

“It is,” she says. “Isn’t it- aren’t you worried, dating a superhero?”

Oh, Luka. He’s now dating _both_ of Paris’ heroes, and he has no idea.

Luka chuckles. “No. We’re not exactly advertising it, and anyways, I trust him to protect me. And Ladybug, if it comes down to it.”

“He probably didn’t like that you told me.”

“You and I have an agreement. Full disclosure.” Luka takes her hands. “If he’d given me an ultimatum, he isn’t worth dating anyway.”

“Aw,” says Marinette, and for good measure kisses his nose. She’s not sure how she’s supposed to react to this, but she figures less is more. “Congratulations on bagging Paris’ hottest superhero, though.”

Luka shrugs, smiling at her. “I don’t know. Ladybug’s pretty hot.”

“So’s Viperion,” she says, just to see him sweat. The general civilian wouldn’t know about the Miraculous that Marinette’s been handing out like candy these days, but she periodically blames everything she knows on Alya and doesn’t let him dwell on it.

“Anyway,” says Luka, turning red. Lilian snickers in the corner. “Ready to go?”

“Always,” she says, and smiles at him.

* * *

A few weeks later, after school, Marinette is hanging out with Alya and Nino after school. The other two have plans for dinner later, but right now they’re all sitting on the benches in the school’s courtyard while Alya laughs at Marinette.

Fencing practice is happening in the courtyard, which is normal, except the instructor has the students practicing without swords or protective gear, just workout clothing and sticks. Which means everyone’s... silhouette is on clear display.

Kagami and Adrien have been fighting for the past twenty minutes.

...It’s been a difficult twenty minutes, let’s say.

“I’m just saying, they should have included all the Pokemon in Sword and Shield,” says Nino.

Marinette, with difficulty, looks away from the curve of Kagami’s back. “What? Oh. No, of course not! How do you expect people to use the new ones if they can stay with what they know forever?”

“You’re not giving people enough credit! And isn’t the whole point of the games to see how unique combinations would do against each other in a fight?”

“If you’re so desperate for unstructured fights, there’s _always_ trading cards-”

A shadow falls over all three of them. Marinette looks up at a flushed and panting Adrien. “Hey, guys!” he says, grinning.

“Hey, bro,” says Nino. “Remember what we talked about?”

“Uh-”

“Great! C’mon, Alya, I’m already hungry.”

Nino grabs Alya by the hand and they race out of the school, laughing the whole way. Marinette frowns after them, wondering what _that_ was about.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” asks Adrien, gesturing next to her.

Marinette glances back up at him. “Sure.”

He sits, fidgeting nervously. Xiang starts to click, but Marinette turns to give him a quick glare. He stops.

She looks back at Adrien. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he says, chuckling. “Uh- yeah, everything’s fine. I was-”

He stops. Marinette waves to Kagami, who’s leaving, and waits.

“Iwaswonderingifyou’dgooutwithme,” says Adrien, all in one breath.

Marinette blinks. “...Sorry,” she says. “I’m gonna need you to- can you please repeat that?”

He takes a deep breath. “I was wondering if you’d- I mean, would you like to go out with me? On a date?”

She opens her mouth, thinks better, and closes it.

Iphigenia pokes her head out of Adrien’s hair. “Are you okay?” she says. It’s the first time she’s ever spoken to Marinette directly, and it doesn’t help.

Xiang shakes his head. “Uh-”

“Yes,” says Marinette. “Yes, I would.”

Xiang hesitating is uncharacteristic enough that she knows this is the right thing to do. He’s always calm - calm and judging the hell out of her decisions. If he’s hesitant enough to consider them dating Adrien and Iphigenia, that’s good enough for her.

 _Adrien Agreste_ just asked her out. Holy shit.

“Everything’s okay with Luka, right?” asks Adrien.

Marinette blinks. “Yes,” she says, a little too quickly. “I mean- uh- yeah, but I’ll check with him anyways.”

She pulls out her phone. _ADRIEN JUST ASKED ME OUT._

Luka’s homeschooled, so he always replies quickly. _Oh my god. you said yes, right??_

_Of course! What do you take me for?_

_Someone who can’t get out full sentences around him ;)_

Luka knows just as well as anyone that she got the hell over herself months ago with regards to Adrien. Still, she’s spent at least two of their recent dates talking about how awesome he is.

 _Shut up,_ she sends. _We’re open?_

She’s given him the okay plenty of times, but she’s never asked _him_ for it. She likes the feeling, likes knowing he’s wishing her luck.

_Yep. Lilian says get it, girl. Love you._

_Love you too._

She takes a deep breath and turns off her phone, looking up at Adrien. “We’re good to go,” she says. “Uh. What do you want to do?”

* * *

For their third date, Adrien picks up Marinette and Xiang from the bakery. It’s Saturday, but business is kind of slow, so her parents stand in the front window and wave until they’re out of sight.

“Sorry about that,” she says as soon as they’re out of earshot. “They’re just... excited, you know? I mean, they love Luka, but I’ve liked you for-”

She flushes. It’s downright embarrassing to think about how she fell over herself when they first met, especially now that they’re dating.

“It’s okay,” says Adrien, looking lost in thought.

When Marinette frowns, Iphigenia creeps out of his hair to perch on his shoulder. “Our father isn’t around a lot, so seeing other parents be supportive is- it’s nice.”

“Oh,” says Marinette. “Of course. I’m sor- yeah. Well, I’m sure my parents would be willing to support you in whatever you need. My mom is Luka’s biggest fan when it comes to his music.”

She’s so lucky her parents are okay with the whole polyamorous thing. And the bi thing. They probably wouldn’t be as cool about the Ladybug thing, but they’re never going to find out, so that’s irrelevant.

She shakes herself out of her thoughts. “Where are we going?”

Adrien grins at her, and offers her his hand. “I was thinking- there’s a tiny cafe about twenty minutes away.” He turns a little red, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “I can’t exactly- uh- going to super public places probably isn’t the best idea.”

Marinette smiles at him. “That’s okay. The cafe sounds awesome.”

“Good!” says Adrien, clearly relieved. “I mean- I really want this to go well. I really like you, Marinette.”

Marinette’s heart seizes in her chest, and she squeezes Adrien’s hand. “Me too,” she says.

Xiang starts clicking, and she turns to glare at him. She knows she embarrasses him pretty often, but... “Seriously?” she whispers. “Telling someone I like them is worth judging?”

Xiang turns to look at her. She swears he would glare if he had facial features that weren’t permanently squinting in bright sunlight. “I have no idea where we are,” he says, flat. “You know, this whole echolocation thing is supposed to be for navigation, not judging you all the time.”

“Right,” she says. “Um. Sorry.”

She usually carries a parasol or something when they go out during the day, to save his eyes. She was so concerned with the date that she forgot today.

“Yeah,” he says, doing an odd shrugging motion with his wings. “I mean, I don’t blame you for forgetting. Iphigenia is-”

“Yeah,” she says. “They’re both pretty incredible. We’re very lucky.”

“Hell yeah,” says Xiang. “Let’s win this date thing.”

“It’s not- it’s not a competition,” she says, but he ignores her.

* * *

Marinette lands as softly as she can manage in the courtyard of the Agreste house. Adrien lets go of her shoulders and steps away from her, Iphigenia sitting in his hair.

He seems skittish about getting too close to her. It’s gratifying to know that he’s controlling himself around Ladybug - he’s mentioned his massive crush on her to Marinette a few times - but she wants to shake him by the shoulders and possibly lean in to kiss him.

Xiang starts to click, as if he knows what she’s thinking. She sighs. He’s right, after all.

She doesn’t interact with Luka much as Ladybug, so she’s not used to having this problem. But god, the whole secret identity thing _sucks_ sometimes.

Adrien looks down. “Uh- thank you for the ride, Ladybug.”

She’d found him on the other side of town, retransformed after giving Tikki time to recover. She’d just stopped an akuma attack - a nasty water related one - and she’d gone to check on Luka, who lives in a freaking _boat._ Then she’d started on her way home and spotted Adrien in an _alley,_ of all places.

He’d insisted that he could walk home on his own, but she had forced him to accept her help. Probably not the nicest thing for her to do, but he’s her _boyfriend._ She’s not just going to leave him to walk from the other side of Paris. “You’re wel-”

The door to the mansion bursts open and out rushes Nathalie, her dæmon padding after her. Marinette has met her a few times before as Adrien’s girlfriend, but not as Ladybug. Thank god Guardian memory powers extend to identity nonsense, or she’d be outing herself to everyone she meets.

“Adrien!” says Nathalie. She stops a few feet away from him, visibly holding herself back from doing anything else. “I was so- you can’t run off like that!”

“Sorry, Nathalie,” says Adrien. “I was worried about Marinette. I couldn’t- it was a bad battle, and I couldn’t find her.”

Marinette feels herself turn red. “I can go check up on Marinette right now,” she says, getting ready to leave. This is clearly a family thing - Nathalie has always cared for Adrien like he’s her own flesh and blood - and anyways, she has to let him know Marinette is okay. “I’ll tell her to text you.”

“Uh, actually-” says Iphigenia. Then she swoops onto Adrien’s shoulder and whispers something into his ear.

Adrien hesitates. He turns to Nathalie. “Can I-”

“No,” says Nathalie. “You’re going to your room right now and not leaving for the rest of the night. I don’t care what plans you had.”

Adrien sighs.

Iphigenia takes off, doing a few loops around his head, as if she’s trying to escape anyways. Then she settles back on his shoulder, nudging his ear with her beak.

Adrien turns to Nathalie, looking down. “That’s fair. Can Ladybug come in for a second, though? I have something I want to ask her.”

Nathalie eyes Marinette, or rather she eyes Ladybug. She knows that Marinette is in an open relationship with Luka, and that Adrien and Marinette are in a similar situation, but as for Ladybug-

Marinette’s pulse ramps up. Is Adrien about to ask _Ladybug_ out?

She’s not sure she can deal with that kind of complication.

Luckily, before she can overthink things, Nathalie closes her eyes and nods. “Fine. Five minutes.”

“Thank you, Nathalie!” says Adrien, running over and hugging her. Nathalie looks surprised for a second, but she doesn’t push him away... and eventually hugs him back.

Xiang turns from his perch on Marinette’s shoulder to whisper in her ear. “If he asks us out, I’m flying out the window.”

Marinette has to stifle a laugh. “That’s what I thought too,” she whispers back. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to say _yes.”_

Finally, Nathalie pulls away from Adrien. “Hurry. Before your father gets home.”

“Got it!” says Adrien, grabbing Marinette’s hand and pulling her through the house.

Xiang’s claws dig into her suit shoulder to avoid being dislodged, the sensation familiar, even as Ladybug. She doesn’t ever feel any other pain through the suit. She’s not sure why Xiang is different. Tikki thinks it’s because he’s literally her soul, but they don’t have any real evidence to support that.

Her normally perfect Guardian memory is failing her - she can’t remember if she’s been to the mansion before as Ladybug. Luckily, she doesn’t have enough time to stop and pretend to be impressed. Adrien is pulling her too fast for her to do anything but follow.

They get to his room, and he closes the door quickly before turning to her.

“Uh-” he says, and hesitates. Iphigenia flies up to a perch higher than arm’s reach and turns away from both of them, as if she doesn’t like what he’s about to ask, or she doesn’t want to watch.

 _Don’t you dare ask me out, Adrien Agreste,_ Marinette thinks.

“I need a favor.”

Oh thank god.

“Sure,” she says. “Whatever you need.”

He smiles at her. “Awesome. I- uh- my boyfriend lives on the river? Luka Couffaine? And the akuma was a super dangerous water type, and I’m worried about him, so can you go and- check on him, please? And uh. Not mention it to him. Because I’m- um- he hates it when I’m worried about him! Yeah, that’s it. He hates it when I worry about him. But I’m still worried. And like-”

At this point, Marinette tunes out, because this doesn’t make any sense. Adrien is _not_ dating Luka. She would know if he was. The only rule she and her boyfriends _have_ is that they have to communicate. More specifically, tell each other who they’re dating.

And Adrien isn’t dating anyone besides her. Luka isn’t dating anyone besides her and Chat Noir.

Did _both_ of them break their agreement with her to date each other? Why would they do _that?_

“-and I said to him, oh my god, and oh- oh man, you’re not listening to me at all.”

“Sorry!” she says, blinking, and smiles at him to make sure he answers her question. “Sorry. I got lost in thought for a second. Back up. You’re dating Luka Couffaine?”

“Yeah,” he says, smiling - it looks like - involuntarily. She knows that look. It’s the same look she gets whenever _she_ talks about Luka.

Did her boyfriend fall in love with her other boyfriend, and she really didn’t notice?

“But we’re keeping it secret,” says Adrien. “And- uh- I wouldn’t tell you unless I was worried about him. So please don’t tell him that you know? Or that I mentioned him.”

“Why are you keeping it secret?” she asks, before she can stop herself. Xiang hadn’t been clicking - he knows the room already, so even though it’s bright and he can’t see anything he doesn’t have to map it. But her obvious nosiness starts him up again.

“Oh, uh-” says Adrien, and that’s when she knows.

She’s not sure what tips her off. It might be the fact that _her_ relationship with Adrien isn’t a secret, even though it means the magazines are having fun with it. It might be the fact that Luka is only dating two people at the moment and she knows he wouldn’t lie to her about that. It might be the fact that she’s known him for years and he’s got a terrible poker face.

Or it might just be because she _knows_ Noire, and she is sitting on a perch half a meter above their heads, refusing to watch her person be an idiot.

“Jesus Christ,” says Marinette. “Jesus fucking- no. You know what? Seriously?”

She throws her hands up and laughs, a little hysterically. “The superhero of good luck?!” she says, knowing that Tikki can hear her. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

She leans forward and kisses Adrien on the cheek. “Sorry, love,” she says, as he stares at her in confusion. “Luka’s fine. I checked on him earlier. I’m gonna go- I’ve got to- oh my _god.”_

She pats Xiang on her shoulder to make sure he’s secure. It’s probably a little harder than she needs to, but what the hell.

And then she jumps out the window.

* * *

“Luka,” Marinette says, swinging through his window.

Luka glances up at her from the desk in his room. “Um,” he says. “Can I help you?”

Xiang started clicking five minutes ago, but she can’t pay attention to him. “Luka, you’re dating Adrien.”

“I’m sorry,” he says. “But what are you doing in my home?”

Lilian creeps out from underneath the desk, their tail fluffed up. “Ladybug?”

The familiar panic of being found out roils through Marinette’s stomach. But it doesn’t matter anymore. None of it matters anymore. Adrien is Chat Noir. Iphigenia is Noire. Marinette is in love with her partner, and he is in love with her, and he is dating her boyfriend, and everything is perfect.

If only her two boyfriends could _figure that out._

She drops her transformation. Tikki is saying something, but Marinette really doesn’t care about that right now. She flops down on the chair in the corner.

“Luka,” she says. “Luka, I’m- I’m sorry, but- Luka, I’m Ladybug.”

He’s still staring at her. If anything, dropping her transformation has only made him _more_ confused.

Xiang finally stops clicking. “It’s true,” he says, taking off from her shoulder and landing on Luka’s. He rubs his beak on Luka’s cheek, fondly. “She’s gone crazy, I think, but she’s not lying. She’s Ladybug. I’m Rouge.”

Lilian creeps up to her, and after a moment’s hesitation jumps onto her lap. They rub their cheek on her hand, and then pop their head up to make eye contact with Luka.

“It’s Marinette,” they say. “But- wait, does that mean that Adrien is Chat Noir?”

“Lilian, you are the smartest being I have ever met,” says Marinette fervently. “And I’ve met Tikki.”

She sits up, remembering something she’s wanted to do for months now. She gestures at her kwami. “Lilian, this is Tikki, the kwami of creation. She’s the one that- uh- she gives Ladybug powers? She’s immortal and you two have almost the exact same life philosophy.” _Even if_ you’re _not annoying,_ she adds silently.

“Hi,” says Lilian, staring at Tikki.

Tikki shakes her head at Marinette. “Marinette, you have a _talent_ for making things more complicated than any Ladybug before you. Nice to meet you, Lilian. Marinette and Xiang are just crazy about you and Luka.”

Luka shakes his head, leaning forward. “Mari, what are you talking about? Adrien is Chat Noir? How do you know?”

“This akuma was dangerous for you guys on the boats,” says Marinette. “After I checked on you after the battle, I found Adrien in an alley. I guess he had just detransformed from being Chat Noir? Anyways, I took him home, and he was grounded for the day, but he asked me to check on you. And he- uh- he called you his boyfriend, and said I shouldn’t tell you I knew, and it just- it made sense. It adds up. I _know_ him, Luka, both of him, and it’s true. You have to-”

“I believe you,” interrupts Luka. He smiles at her, hesitantly. “I always believe you.” His hand goes up to stroke Xiang’s back - something she never does herself. She sinks her hands into Lilian’s fur to match the feeling going down her spine. “But, Marinette, how- you’re Ladybug? How long? Does that mean- you’re the one that gave me the Miraculous?”

“Yes,” she says, closing her eyes. “Uh, it’s been about a year and a half. There’s more to that story, but it’s a huge secret, and anyways, I think we have to go talk to Adrien.”

“Yeah,” says Luka. “But you said he was grounded for the day?”

“Oh,” says Lilian, under Marinette’s hands. “That’s easy. We just go over there and convince Nathalie to let us in. She has a soft spot for me, you know.”

“Of course she does,” says Marinette, smiling down at them. She looks up at Luka, suddenly apprehensive. “Is that- is that okay? Are we-”

She doesn’t want to finish that sentence. She realizes that she’s just told her boyfriend of six months that she’d broken the main rule of their relationship and lied to him about the biggest part of her life.

He takes a deep breath, looks down, and then looks back up and smiles at her. “We’re good,” he says. “You’re incredible, Marinette. I know I’ve said it before, but- wow. I love you so much, Mari.”

She smiles at him and takes a deep breath. “Yeah,” she says. “I love you too.”

* * *

Adrien opens the door to his room and frowns at both of them. “Uh-” he says. “What are you- what’s going on?”

“You have a terrible poker face,” Marinette says, breezing in past him. Xiang launches off her shoulder and lands on the perch that Iphigenia was on before. A quick scan of the room places her on the basketball hoop, staring at all of them.

Adrien and Iphigenia have always had a long bond. Marinette has never figured out why they spend all their time outside of their house so close together.

Luka follows her inside, looking apologetic, and closes the door. He may be dating Adrien’s alter ego, but he’d said on the way to the mansion that he doesn’t know how to act around Adrien Agreste himself. Hopefully this conversation will fix that.

“What?” asks Adrien.

Marinette leans in and kisses him. “Hello, by the way.”

“Hi?” says Adrien. “What are you doing?”

Marinette stops at the window, takes a deep breath, and turns around. “You are Chat Noir,” she says. “Don’t try to argue, we know it’s true.”

Adrien frowns at her. He opens his mouth, as if to argue, and then closes it. “Um.”

Out of nowhere, Plagg phases through Adrien’s pillow. “Fucking _finally,”_ he says, going up to Xiang and bumping heads with him. “Thank god. The secrets were stressing me out like _crazy._ I’ve been going through cheese faster than a hot day in a mouse-infested larder.”

“Hold on,” says Adrien. “He knows you. How does he-”

He stops. And _looks_ at her.

“My lady?”

She smiles. “Hi, chaton.”

Iphigenia lets out a high shrill of excitement. “We figured it out!” she says, launching off her perch, and does a few laps around Marinette’s head before settling back on the hoop.

“Hi, Noire,” she says, trying not to laugh. She looks back at Adrien. “And of course, you know Luka.”

Luka and Lilian step forward. “Hi, Chat,” says Luka. He leans in and kisses Adrien, quickly. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Luka-” says Adrien. The situation he’s in seems to hit him. “Oh my god, Luka, I’m so-”

“Relax,” says Luka, smiling at him. “It’s okay. Marinette explained. You two are so amazing. I don’t know how I ended up with the coolest partners in Paris, but I’ll take it.”

“I mean- you’re not half bad yourself,” says Adrien, kissing him again. Then he turns to Marinette. “How did you figure it out?”

“When you told me you were keeping your relationship with Luka secret,” she said. “First of all: total lie. Luka would tell me if he were dating you, even if you were just a famous model. He told me he was dating you, hero of Paris, after all. Also: that doesn’t even make any sense. You’re not keeping _our_ relationship a secret. The paparazzi aren’t _that_ bad.”

Adrien stares at her. Luka stifles a laugh.

“What?” she says, glancing between them. “I’m right!”

“Mari,” says Adrien, starting to grin. “If I were just a famous model, and I was dating both you and Luka, I’d keep still my relationship with Luka a secret, even if we were open about _our_ relationship.”

When she still doesn’t get it, Luka shakes his head, still smiling. “Marinette,” he says. “Dating two people isn’t exactly... the most acceptable thing, socially? Especially if one of them is a boy?”

“Oh my _god,”_ says Marinette. “Right. Yeah. That’s true.”

“So you’re telling me,” says Xiang, from his perch above them, “that this was all just a lucky guess?”

“No!” she says, pointing at him. “I know Adrien better than that! I recognized Chat Noir! Adrien’s never tried to lie to me before, but Chat has a _few_ times. I know how bad of a liar he is!”

Xiang doesn’t even bother arguing with her, just starts clicking. She sticks her tongue out at him and looks back at Adrien and Luka. “Okay. Whatever. It was a lucky guess. Ladybug is the superhero of good luck. It worked out.”

“Oh!” says Tikki, phasing out of her purse. “You finally believe me, then? Ha!”

And she joins Plagg in the rafters.

Adrien stares after her. “Uh... I assume I don’t want context for that?”

“Nope,” says Marinette, at the same time that Xiang says, “You _really_ don’t.”

“ _However,”_ she says, waving him down. “We are really lucky. Uh.” She hesitates. “It turns out, Adrien and I are dating. Luka and I are dating. And-”

“-and Adrien and I are dating,” finishes Luka. “That’s pretty good news, right there.”

“Yeah,” says Adrien. “Um. Does that mean we’re a- we’re a triad? Is that any different from what we’ve been doing? Because I’m definitely down for that.”

“Me too,” says Marinette. “Luka, you’re the one with the vocabulary.”

Luka’s the one that’s done the research on queer history and terms and has been to Pride more than once. Marinette’s only been once, and she could only stay for a little while. To the best of her knowledge, Adrien has never gotten to go.

“Yeah,” says Luka. “I think the only thing that can change is going on three-way dates. I mean. It would have to be secret, of course.”

“Yeah,” says Marinette, blushing. “Obviously. Of course.”

Adrien winks at her.

“But nothing has to change,” says Luka, hurriedly. “We can keep doing what we’re doing. I’m okay with dating Chat Noir.”

“If Adrien and Luka are going to start dating, even in secret, Luka and Chat Noir need to break up,” says Iphigenia. “Not in public, obviously. Somewhere where Hawkmoth will hear it if he knows that they’re dating, and miss it if they don’t.”

“We have no idea where Hawkmoth _is,”_ says Marinette. “We don’t know what part of Paris he’s spying on, if any. I mean, ideally, they’d go to his base of operations and break up on the floor above him, but we have no idea where that could be.”

“Yeah,” says Adrien. “I mean, I’ll just stop visiting Luka’s room as Chat Noir. Plagg mentioned an identity magic once?”

“Yeah,” says Marinette. “Only friendly Miraculous holders are immune. Hawkmoth won’t make a connection between your hair and Chat Noir’s, as long as you don’t say anything too obvious.”

“Right,” says Luka. “And, uh, you guys are okay, on the identity standpoint?”

Adrien catches Marinette’s eye. On the surface level, yes, she’s fine. She trusts Adrien and Luka with her life - she’s okay with them knowing her secret identity. As long as they’re careful in their civilian lives...

She and Chat will have to discuss how this will affect their relationship as superheroes. But that’s another discussion, separate from Luka.

“Yeah,” she says.

“Yes,” says Adrien.

“Good,” Luka says. “I still want to date you two. You guys still want to date everyone involved?”

“Absolutely,” says Adrien.

“Yes,” says Marinette, smiling at both of them. Her partners. Both of the boys she loves.

“And does everyone want to go on three-way dates? I mean, they’d have to happen in secret, but-”

“Hell yes,” says Marinette, surprising even herself.

Adrien smiles at her, gently. “Me too.”

“Me three,” says Luka. “Same rules for dating other people goes?”

Both of them nod.

“Awesome,” he says. “I now pronounce us a triad. You may now kiss... whoever you want, I guess.”

Lilian gets in between everyone’s legs and glances up at Marinette. She looks down and nods. They tangle themself within everyone’s legs as Marinette grins, grabs a wrist each, and pulls her boys towards her.

* * *

“Hi,” says Luka, climbing through the trap door with Lilian on his shoulders. Adrien and Marinette are in the middle of their last battle and the score is tied, so neither of them look at him, but they chorus out “Hello”s and “How are you”s appropriately.

“Oh, you’re going _down,_ Agreste!” says Marinette. Xiang clicks supportively.

“Speak for yourself,” says Adrien, launching her off the playing field. Iphigenia beats her wings twice in excitement.

After a few minutes of fancy maneuvering, Marinette manages to beat him, 3-2. “Ha!” she says. “My reward, if you please?”

“Fine,” says Adrien, tossing his controller onto her desk. “I admit it. You’re a better player than I am.”

“And?”

He leans in so that their noses are touching. “And?” he echoes.

“Rude,” she says. “Shut up and do what you promised to.”

Adrien closes the gap between them and kisses her softly, reaching out to stroke Xiang at the same time. When she pulls back for air, he kisses her nose, her eyelids, her cheekbones, and then her lips again before finally sitting back, pulling his hand away from Xiang.

“Is that acceptable, oh queen of Ultimate Mecha Strike III?” he asks, smirking at her. She peels one eye open to glare at him.

“Yes,” she says, and turns to Luka, who’s spreading a blanket over the floor. “Get over here. You’re my favorite.”

“Yes, ma’am,” says Luka, coming over and getting a kiss of his own. “You hear that? I’m her favorite.”

“That’s just because I’m going to beat her one day,” says Adrien, kissing Luka for good measure. “How was your day, babe?”

“Pretty good,” says Luka. “Helped Juleka and Rose with a song they’re writing. It’s good.”

“I’m glad,” says Marinette, smiling at him, before she looks over her room. Adrien had set a picnic basket on the lounge chair when he’d arrived half an hour before, and she’d made macarons yesterday, meaning they had all the ingredients they needed for a proper (indoor) picnic. “Let’s set up, huh?”

As Luka smooths out the blanket and puts down dishes and silverware, Adrien sets out the bread and cheese he’d brought and Marinette pours lemonade. In only a few moments, all three of them are sitting on the ground, smiling at each other.

“Okay,” says Marinette. “So. We’ve gathered the coven here for a very special occasion!”

“I hate it when she calls us that,” says Xiang to Lilian.

Iphigenia tilts her head. “I don’t know, it’s kind of fun.”

“Here’s to six months!” says Adrien, holding up his glass. Luka and Marinette both clink theirs with his, and then with each other.

“And to all the months more,” says Luka, softly. He smiles. “I love both of you so much.”

“Me too,” says Marinette.

“I am so lucky to have the two of you,” says Adrien. “You fill my life with light and love.”

“Aw,” says Marinette, as Luka leans over to kiss him. “Cat boy is getting sappy.”

“Don’t pretend you’re not sappy, too!” says Adrien, reaching over to poke her in the stomach. Xiang agrees with a single, pointed click.

“Never!” she says, squirming away. She sets her glass down and reaches out to take both of their hands. “Really, though,” she says. “I wouldn’t trade either of you for anything. To us.”

“To us,” echoes Luka.

“Us,” says Adrien. “I still love the sound of that.”

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is a (very belated) birthday gift for my best friend, who i love very much and who puts up with me much more than any sane person ever would. if y'all think i'm annoying online, imagine what dealing with me every day is like. she's sat through so many rants about star trek. a true american hero. happy birthday, lesbean!
> 
> the daemons in this fic come from a daemon au that we've been brainstorming for more than a year now. she came up with the forms and most of the personality traits, and i found the names and wrote this fic (shut up, i'm contributing). if y'all like her takes on daemon aus, you should check out her/our danganronpa daemon au at [shsldaemons on tumblr](https://shsldaemons.tumblr.com/). there's not much there atm, but if enough of you express interest, we can collectively bully her into posting more!! help me out here, i've been the only fan of that au for like 15 months.
> 
> oh, and also i'm [on tumblr](https://smallblueandloud.tumblr.com) myself :) drop by to discuss headcanons, this fic, or just to say hi! thanks for reading.


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